I'm process-orientated, and people say that about the details. But I love the players. My No. 1 job is to make them better men. My No. 2 job is to make them better at hockey, and I never confuse that. The best people I've ever been around in my life never let me get away with anything - ever. You can have all the details in the world, but if you can't communicate with people and find a way to help them help themselves, you have no chance in this league. To me, that's what the profession is about: getting guys to believe in themselves and each other.
Mike BabcockWhen you don't make people accountable, it leads to a superstar mentality where not everyone on the team is important.
Mike BabcockWhen I come to the rink each day, in my heart and my mind, I'm going to expect to win, because that's the way I think. It's going to be way different than it has in the past for me, in some ways, coming here.
Mike BabcockI think being honest with one another creates an environment that's comfortable. You want to know where you stand, whether you're doing a good job. The players know what's going on before you do. They're trying to see if you're going to do something about it. And when it's not like that, everybody is pissed off, because they know that people can get away with stuff and that nobody is keeping them in line. That's not a team to me.
Mike Babcock